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profitable age and weight at which to market hogs. Since the 

 hog does not mature until it is sixteen or more months old, it 

 must put on fat while still making growth if marketed at this 

 early age. The finishing period is therefore but a modification 

 and continuation of the growing period. 



Two general systems of fattening hogs are practiced. Under 

 one system the hogs are confined to dry yards and fed until they 

 are ready for market. Under the other system they are allowed 

 the run of the pastures or fields, with forage and pasture crops. 

 The first is essentially the method followed in winter, and the 

 second is the method usually followed in summer. Corn alone 

 will not produce satisfactory gains on hogs that are still making 

 growth, and the best feeders no longer inclose and feed their 

 hogs in dry lots on corn alone. 



534. Feed for fattening hogs. Kafir, milo, and similar grains 

 may be used instead of corn in western Kansas, Nebraska, 

 Oklahoma, and regions with similar climatic conditions. These 

 small hard grains should be either ground or soaked for best 

 results. Where barley is a staple crop, it may be used success- 

 fully. The results of experiments show that from the standpoint 

 of efficiency and rate of gain obtained, barley has a feeding 

 value very little lower than corn. Rye has about the same feed- 

 ing value as barley, and emmer ranks about 5 per cent lower 

 than barley. 



535. How to balance the ration. The leading regular or sup- 

 plementary feeds to produce growth are tankage, meat meal, 

 skim milk, buttermilk, shorts or wheat middlings, linseed meal, 

 soy beans, Spanish peanuts, cowpeas, or cull beans and field 

 peas. The leguminous hays, among which alfalfa takes the 

 leading place, are also used to a considerable extent. It is 

 better as a rule to use a combination of these feeds instead 

 of any one alone, though the price, as well as the efficiency, is 

 always to be considered. The results of a series of experiments 

 conducted at the Kansas Experiment Station, to determine the 

 relative feeding value of a number of such supplements, showed 

 that a combination of corn, shorts, and tankage or meat meal 



